JOHN HARPER recalls a memorable moment in history from 60 years ago

"AS was the case throughout the nation – and the whole world – Wednesday morning's news of the sudden death of King George VI took Tamworth completely by surprise. His Majesty was 56 years of age, and in the 16th year of his reign".

This is how, 60 years ago this week, the Herald informed readers of 'the passing of a great king'.

Though his health had been failing for some time, the king's death on February 6, 1952, came as a shock to many – none more than his 25-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, who was on tour in Africa.

News gradually filtered out that having retired at 10.30pm to his rooms in Sandringham House – the very building in which he had been born in 1895 – King George VI went to bed.

At 7.30am the following morning, having received no reply to his knock, royal valet James MacDonald entered the King's room and discovered the monarch's lifeless body.

Soon after falling asleep, the King – who had been dogged by ill health throughout his life – had suffered a fatal blood clot in his heart.

At 10.45am, news agencies were permitted to release the official confirmation of George VI's passing and the Herald noted that newsagents were immediately besieged for the first editions of evening newspapers carrying the sad news.

"Knots of people quietly discussing the loss of a beloved ruler were scattered along every pavement as housewives left their cooking, traders temporarily abandoned their counters, and office workers wandered from their desks" said the Herald report.

"In factories, production missed a beat as the announcement was made known, and in schools the children were informed of the death of their King and the accession of the new Queen."

The Herald went on to say that many women were to be seen openly crying in the streets.

"Flags flying at half-mast appeared on the Castle and on the principal buildings in the town", the report continues.

"Mourning windows were quickly arranged in many shops. The entertainment and social life of the town halted.

"The town's two cinemas were closed for the day, and functions scheduled for then and the immediate future were either cancelled or postponed."

In a spontaneous gesture of grief at the news of the King's death, the Tamworth tape factory of Messrs E B Hamel and Sons, employing 350 people, closed down at midday for the rest of the day.

The second son of King George V had actually been christened not George but Albert, and but for his brother Edward VIII's abdication, would have lived out his life as the Duke of York.

Unlike his flamboyant elder brother, he had an undistinguished childhood, a naval career plagued by illness and a persistent stammer that dogged his attempts at public speaking.

Yet he grew quickly into the role which had been thrust upon him, and provided much-needed stability after King Edward's brief but turbulent reign.

King George and Queen Elizabeth further endeared themselves to the public by their stalwart conduct during World War Two.

A heavy smoker, the king was suffering from lung cancer. However, it was a heart attack, not cancer, that killed him.

In a statement, the Mayor of Tamworth (Cllr H Baker) said: "The passing of his Majesty the King brings to all people of the world, and particularly his own people, a deep sense of tragedy and personal loss.

"Throughout his reign the King has endeared himself to the hearts of the people. Evidence of this was found by the sincere sympathy expressed during his recent illness.

"The suddenness of his passing came as a profound shock to us all.

"To the members of the Royal Family I offer the sincere sympathy of the burgesses of Tamworth."

The Herald also felt compelled to comment on the King's passing.

"His life was a great example of the true meaning of service above self", wrote the paper's then editor James Dickson.

"After years during which he shared with his people the dangers, sufferings and anxieties of world war and the stress and strain of its aftermath, it might have been hoped for him that he would be spared to see the nation rise again from the ashes of conflict to peace and prosperity.

"That was not to be, and we can only sincerely hope and pray that the new reign now beginning under our gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth the Second, will bring those brighter days for which the British people and Commonwealth yearn so intensely. That a new and more illustrious era is to dawn."

When her father had died, the new Queen had been asleep high above ground in the famous Treetops Hotel, 20 miles from Sagana. Prince Philip broke the sad news to his 25-year-old wife, and following an emotional walk in the grounds of Sagana Lodge with her husband, Queen Elizabeth II returned to her desk to compose telegrams cancelling the remaining engagements of her Commonwealth tour and hastily returned home.

The following evening, Prime Minister Winston Churchill broadcast one of his finest speeches to the nation.

He described the impact of the king's death, the friendship which he had enjoyed with the late monarch, especially during the war years, and spoke of the king over the past few months having walked with death as if it were an acquaintance whom he did not fear.

In the end, death came as a friend.

He then remarked the 'Second Queen Elizabeth' was now ascending the throne, adding that she was almost the same age as her celebrated namesake when she had become queen.

He concluded by observing that, as in his youth, he would once more utter the prayer and anthem 'God Save the Queen'.